Evolutionary Parenting Podcast

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Ep. 72: How can research inform birthing and post-partum care? Sep 18, 2026

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If you've ever given birth in a hospital, depending on where you live, you may have noticed that hospitals still put babies into a big plastic bins. Reaching your baby is hard, you can't keep a hand on them easily, and if you've had a c-section, it's almost impossible to even pick up your baby. And yet, year after year, it stays the same. But hopefully not for long. Joining me today is Dr. Kristin Tully who has taken ideas that started in her graduate work to develop a new bassinet that meets family needs in that critical post-birth period. Dr. Tully is a medical anthropologist and Research Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her expertise is engaging patients, family members, clinicians, and community members through mixed methods research to understand health priorities and co-generate solutions to meet their needs. Broadly, her program of work promotes quality care by addressing what people need to know, feel, and have happen to be safe and well. Dr. Tully founded Couplet Care, Inc to offer the Couplet Care Bassinet™ to hospitals and birth centers to enhance inpatient postpartum care. The overbed bassinet was designed with families and health care professionals to improve maternal-infant access, thereby improving safety, enabling responsive feeding, and increasing satisfaction. Dr. Tully is also Associate Faculty at Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Tully at the University of North Carolina Couplet Care - https://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/people/kristin-tully/ Dr. Tully's publications (Research Gate) - https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kristin-Tully Postnatal Patient Safety Learning Lab - https://www.postnatalsafety.com/our-work 4th Trimester Project website - https://newmomhealth.com/

Ep. 71: Dispelling CIO Sleep Training Myths Part V: Does Sleep Training Help Mother's Mental Health? Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

We've all heard it said - sleep training helps moms, right? Moms are tired and overworked and need those babies to sleep so even if there is some risk associated with it, isn't it for the greater good? This is something we hear all the time, but does the research actually support this? Joining me today is Dr. Kathy Kendall-Tackett. Dr. Kendall-Tackett is a health psychologist and International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, and the Director of Praeclarus Press, a small press specializing in women's health. For the past 10 years, Dr. Kendall-Tackett has been Editor-in-Chief of Psychological Trauma. She is Fellow of the American Psychological Association in Health and Trauma Psychology and Past President of the APA Division of Trauma Psychology. Dr. Kendall-Tackett specializes in women's-health research including breastfeeding, depression, trauma, and health psychology, and has won many awards for her work including the 2019 President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Trauma Psychology from the American Psychological Association, and is a member of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Honor Society. Dr. Kendall-Tackett has authored more than 500 articles or chapters and is author or editor of 42 books, including the recent Breastfeeding Doesn’t Need to Suck. Dispelling Cry-It-Out Sleep Training Myths and What To Do Instead: https://amzn.to/4y5mKTy Dr. Kathy Kendall-Tackett: https://kathleenkendall-tackett.com/ Dr. Kathy Kendall-Tackett at the Uppity Science Chick: http://www.uppitysciencechick.com/kktbio.html Breastfeeding Doesn't Have to Suck (Book): https://amzn.to/4vhBLPB Dr. Kathy Kendall-Tackett Books: https://amzn.to/3SN4gac Praecalus Press: https://www.praeclaruspress.com/

Ep. 70: Dispelling CIO Sleep Training Myths Part IV: Does Sleep Training Affect Attachment? Aug 26, 2026

Show notes

One of the most critical things we as parents aim to do for our kids is to help them develop a secure attachment. We want them to feel safe in the world - or as safe as we can make them feel. You might hear people say that sleep training has no effect on attachment. Or that sleep training inherently ruins attachment. Neither are true, but there is a relationship and here to discuss the complex one that exists between attachment and sleep is my dear friend, Dr. Levita D'Souza. Levita is a registered Counselling Psychologist and Lecturer within the Faculty of Education at Monash University. She has worked in public and private settings before commencing a career in academia. Her research interests are in the area of perinatal psychology, early childhood experiences and its impact on attachment and neurobiology, adverse childhood experiences (ACE), transgenerational trauma and attachment patterns and its subsequent effect on parenting styles. Her recent research projects are looking at psychological factors affecting first-time fathers as they transition to fatherhood. Dispelling Cry-It-Out Sleep Training Myths and What To Do Instead - https://amzn.to/4vP77hw Dr. Levita D'Souza at Monash University - https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/levita-dsouza/ Dr. Levita D'Souza at the Centre for Perinatal Psychology - https://www.centreforperinatalpsychology.com.au/psychologists/levita-dsouza/

Ep. 69: Dispelling CIO Sleep Training Myths Part III: How does the context of sleep affect development? Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

Today is episode three of the special series covering our new book, "Dispelling Cry-It-Out Sleep Training Myths and What To Do Instead", published by Routledge and out in stores now. So we all now understand more about what normal infant sleep is like, but what about the context in which that takes place? We know it's not just sleep that defines childhood or how our children develop, but the entirety of the culture and context around them. And what shouldn't be surprising to many is that our current Western culture is very, very far away from where we started and we may just be getting to the beginning of understanding this impact. Joining me today to discuss this very important topic are Drs. Darcia Narvaez and Mary Tarsha. Dispelling Cry-It-Out Sleep Training Myths and What To Do Instead - https://amzn.to/4vP77hw Dr. Darcia Narvaez at University of Notre Dame - https://psychology.nd.edu/people/darcia-narvaez/7%5C Dr. Darcia Narvaez - https://darcianarvaez.com/ Dr. Mary Tarsha at University of Notre Dame - https://iris.nd.edu/about-us/people/ The Evolved Nest Initiative - https://evolvednest.org/ Dr. Darcia Narvaez's Books - https://amzn.to/4p39D0Q Kindred Media (Videos, Books, Resources) - https://kindredmedia.org/ Dr. Darcia Narvaez at Psychology Today - https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/contributors/darcia-f-narvaez-phd

Ep. 68: Dispelling CIO Sleep Training Myths Part II: What's Normal For Infant Sleep? (Book Series) Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

Today is episode two of the special series covering our new book, "Dispelling Cry-It-Out Sleep Training Myths and What To Do Instead". When talking about sleep training, we can't get very far without talking about what is it parents can and should expect of their babies. That is, what is normal when we think about infant sleep? Joining me today to discuss this in more depth is Dr. Elaine Barry, who holds the honour of being one of the two co-authors I have not had on this podcast before, but who is becoming a leading voice in the world of normal infant sleep. Dispelling Cry-It-Out Sleep Training Myths and What To Do Instead - https://amzn.to/4vP77hw Dr. Elaine Barry at Penn State Fayette - https://fayette.psu.edu/person/elaine-barry Dr. Elaine Barry at PsychWire - https://psychwire.com/profiles/9xq69n/elaine-barry

Ep. 67: Dispelling CIO Sleep Training Myths Part I: Why Should We Care About CIO? (Book Series) Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

What do you get when you put 7 academic women together who all want see an end to the sleep training era? A book, of course. I am thrilled to announce a mini-series for the Evolutionary Parenting podcast featuring interviews with all authors of the chapters in a new book out called 'Dispelling Cry-It-Out Sleep Training Myths and What to Do Instead', published by Routleged and out now where you buy your favourite books. I was honoured to be involved in this book and have loved my conversations with all my co-authors. Over the next five episodes, I'll be sharing my conversations with each of the authors in this book about their chapters in the book, and really their areas of expertise in this. To kick things off, I am honoured to share my conversation with Dr. Jennie Rosier, a long-time collaborator of mine, former guest on this podcast, and the brainchild of this book, Dr. Jennie Rosier. Dispelling Cry-It-Out Sleep Training Myths and What To Do Instead Dr. Jennie Rosier at James Madison University Relationships, Love, Happiness Project Love Matters Podcast

Ep. 66: Safe Sleep Education: Is Abstinence Only the Only Way? Mar 16, 2026

Show notes

If you have listened to a lot of my podcasts, you know I like to talk about sleep. It's one of the biggest topics for parents today. And part of why we have to talk about it is because those of us is WEIRD countries - Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic countries - get a very specific sleep message when we have our kids and that message is: Do NOT sleep with your children or you risk killing them. I think every new parent has heard the fear-based messaging that tells us there is nothing we can do except avoid it. And if we don't? Well, then there's something wrong with us as parents, right? What if the problem isn't us, but instead lies with the messaging we're getting? Joining me today is one of my favourite people - Carly Grubb. Carly is a PhD student at the University of the Sunshine Coast and is the lead author of the research we'll be discussing, which looks at the safe sleep messages parents receive, how helpful these messages are, and what parents are actually looking for. She also comes to this research table from a place of advocacy. As the founder of the Beyond Sleep Training Project and Little Sparklers, Carly has heard from thousands of families around the world how hard navigating new parenting and sleep can be. Welcome back to the podcast as we dive into the touchy topic of abstinence-only sleep education. Here are the following links for anyone who is interested: Research Article - https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1629678/pdf The Beyond Sleep Training Project - https://thebeyondsleeptrainingproject.com/ Little Sparklers - https://littlesparklers.org/ Carly Grubb's Research Page - https://research.usc.edu.au/esploro/profile/carly_grubb Carly's Previous Episode with Me - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-3-what-are-the-sleep-struggles-facing-families-today/id1177835448?i=1000501408655

Ep. 65: How can nurture transform your parenting and your child? Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

When we think about raising our children, we often all have ideas of what is best and what we want to do. Not always are we able to achieve those goals – for better or worse. But the early years, especially 0 to 3, are crucial in our children’s neurological development and knowing what can benefit them and how we can overcome adversity in that time is something all parents should know. Returning to the show this week is Dr. Green Kirshenbaum, a neuroscientist, doula, and educator who is here to discuss her new book – The Nurture Revolution – and help families understand what’s going on in that crucial developmental period (and beyond) and how families can utilize the benefit of nurture to help facilitate this development. Not just for new parents, this episode is one for anyone who is raising a child of any age and wants to know how we can best serve those little people we call our kids. Dr. Greer Kirshenbaum: https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/ Her book, The Nurture Revolution: https://amzn.to/3CFLsC3

Ep. 64: How Is Breastfeeding Portrayed in Literature in Different Cultures? Mar 03, 2023

Show notes

Normalizing breastfeeding is an ongoing battle in some Western cultures. Even when someone starts out breastfeeding, many report not being able to meet their goals or face various obstacles in trying to nurse their children. One part of the equation is how breastfeeding is represented in these cultures. Is it accessible through various media? How is it perceived? Joining me today to help answer this question - and discuss the implications of it - is Dr. BJ Woodstein, author of the book The Portrayal of Breastfeeding in Literature. Hopefully by understanding the power of how breastfeeding is portrayed, we can move towards creating a culture where breastfeeding families feel supported and seen. Dr. BJ Woodstein: https://research-portal.uea.ac.uk/en/persons/bj-epstein The Portrayal of Breastfeeding in Literature*: https://amzn.to/3kaUVYQ We’re Here!: A Practical Guide to Becoming an LGBTQ+ Parent*: https://amzn.to/3YVhWhm *Amazon affiliate link

Ep. 63: How do we reconcile early intervention for Autism with neurodiversity? Dec 21, 2022

Show notes

Our understanding and acceptance of Autism has evolved over the years towards a greater awareness of what we call neurodiversity - broadly, the idea that each brain is unique and what used to be considered "disorders" are not at all, but rather reflections of these uniquenesses with their own strengths and weaknesses. At the same time, we have also learned how valuable early intervention is for longer-term outcomes. But how can this be? If we aren't "fixing" anything, why the need for this intervention? Joining me is Dr. Lauren Franz, the Associate Director of Duke University's Center for Autism and Brain Development, for what I hope you will find to be an enlightening and important conversation. Dr. Franz: https://globalhealth.duke.edu/people/franz-lauren Focus article: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2794074 Programs and articles discussed in the interview: On Naturalistic Developmental Behavioural Interventions: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4513196/pdf/10803_2015_Article_2407.pdf On Early Start Denver Model: https://autismcenter.duke.edu/news/online-caregiver-coaching-modules-based-early-start-denver-model Lancet Commission report: https://www.thelancet.com/commissions/autism Open Access Book "Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement": https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-13-8437-0 Meta-Analysis of interventions: https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fbul0000215

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